overcrowded prison systems due to unfair time given to nonviolent crimes vs. violent crimes

Running Head : OVERCROWDED PRISON SYSTEMS DUE TO UNFAIR TIME GIVEN TO NONVIOLENT CRIMES VS . VIOLENT CRIMES

Overcrowded prison systems due to unfair time given to nonviolent crimes vs . violent crimes (Your Name (Your School

OVERCROWDED PRISON SYSTEMS DUE TO UNFAIR TIME GIVEN TO NONVIOLENT CRIMES VS VIOLENT CRIMES

Introduction

One out of every 140 people is behind bars in the United States . This is apparently a high rate of imprisonment compared to other countries . The staggering number of prisoners may not be a reflection of the rate of crime in

the society but rather faulty criminal justice system is also a major contributing factor . But it is also a clear indication that the criminal justice system has failed in its overall duty of correcting the offenders and integrating them to the society well . This is evidenced by the high rate of re-offenders in jail (Godwin , 2003

More than half of those who are released from prisons every year in the US and million of others are recycles through the same criminal justice system . At the end , prison and jails act as the training ground for the non violent offenders where they graduate to violent offenders

The United States criminal justice system has federal and state correction system . The two systems have thousand of jails which are managed at the local level . These jails make up a complex network of people and other institutions which compose many correction and detention facilities . This also translates to a high cost of maintenance with billions of dollars used annually in operation and maintenances

Most the prisoners in the US are held at the federal or state prisons as compared to the local jails . The figures released in 2000 showed that more that two thirds of the US prisoner were held in federal or state prisons while the remainder is detained in the local jails

Overcrowding in prisons

US prisons a jails holds more that two million adults . Compared to the population of the United States , it means this is one in every 140 person . The rate of incarceration is also about 727 prisoners per 100 ,000 residents . This is quite a high rate that has not been achieved by any other country in the world . Compared to European countries , this is a high rate since the rate of incarceration is less than 100 people per 100 , 000 residents . This is seven times lower than the US rates (Ruth , 2005

The high figures have not been attributed to the longstanding incarceration patterns but the figures are consequence of radical changes that have taken plain the criminal justice policies for the last two decades . The rate of incarceration had remained relatively stage for most of the twentieth century and had been rising and falling with factors like economic growth and depression but has been within a reasonable limited

But since the middle of 1970s , the rate started to take an upward trend It accelerated in the 1980s and reached peak in 1990s . For example in 1985...